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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 1 



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^3srj^L"irsis 



—OF THE— 



EVIDENCE AND REPORTS, 



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LETTER FROM 
LATE CHIEF COMMISSIONER 

—TO THE— 



HAOKENSACK, K. J.: 

KEPTJBLICAN STEAM BOOK AND JOB PRINT, 

1874. 

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To THE Honorable Hamilton Fish, 

Secretary of State. 

Sir : — Since my return to the country a few weeks ago, 
I have read, for the first time, what purports to be the 
evidence taken before Messrs. Jay and McEh-ath, in the 
city of Vienna, Austria, in relation to the acts and doings 
of the U. S. Commission to the International Exhibition 
in that city ; and the elaborate libel accompanying that 
evidence, signed by them, wliich they endeavor to dignify 
by the title of a "report." 

This evidence and report, together with a portion of 
the correspondence between the Honorable Secretary of 
State and myself, are embraced in a massive volume in 
book form, prepared at the Department of State. 

The title page of this volume proclaims it to contain 
the " Charges against General T. B. Van Buren and the 
replies thereto." 

As no " charges " have ever been presented to me, I 
have been afforded no opportunity of reply, and I have 
searched through three hundred pages of this book, in 
vain, to ascertain the charges, unless they are to be found 



in the telegrams of Mr. Jay or extracted from the verbiage 
of the report. 

In a letter from you, dated the 12th of September, 
1873, occurs the following language : ''It certainly was 
not the Department of State nor the Government which as- 
signed any criminality or improper conduct, or anything 
hut 'irregularities ' as the cause of suspension^ And 
again — "The Government assigned no grounds for the sus- 
pension ivhich should necessarily overivhelm one with morti- 
fication and distress. If newspapers assigned any such 
grounds, the Government was not responsible therefor.'" I 
am obliged to confess my ignorance of what misdemean- 
ors may be included under the comprehensive term " ir- 
regularities" — but am warranted in concluding, from your 
language just quoted, that " nothing criminal or improp- 
er" is embraced within its meaning — and also that what- 
ever acts or omissions it implies must have existed prior 
to the date of my suspension. Again, these " irregulari- 
ties," whatever they are, must have been entirely un- 
known to the Government prior to my departure for 
Europe, and must have been, it is fair to assume, of a 
most serious character to have induced the suspension 
of the American Commission at Vienna, a few days be- 
fore the opening of the Exhibition. Permit me to say 
I find no such charges in the volume before me, and am 
at as much loss to-day, as I was at the time of my re- 
moval, to know of what I am accused. One thing, how- 
ever, I think must be apparent to the most casual reader 
of these pages, and that is the intense, bitter, personal, 
malignant hostility of the Honorable John Jay to the 
Commission — and his persistent and successful efforts 
to destroy it at whatever cost to the reputation of 



Ms Government and at whatever peril to the Exhibi-^ 
tion. 

I would that his letters to the Department of State 
during the winter and spring of 1872-3 might have been 
included in this volume, affording additional evidence, 
as they do, of his malice towards the Commission and of 
his designs to embarass and defeat its labors. Of 
this interference on the part of Mr. Jay I frequently ex- 
pressed my opinion, as reference to my letters will show, 
and finally announced to you that if it could not be pre- 
vented I preferred to surrender my commission. 

Within a few weeks after my appointment I received 
warning of this disposition of Mr. Jay's. And these 
warnings were repeated in various quarters, during the 
progress of my work, and even on my journey to Yienna. 
But conscious as I was of having performed my duty 
faithfully and knowing too that the Honorable Secretary of 
State was aware, to some extent, of this hostility on Mr. 
Jay's part, I paid no further heed to this warning, rely- 
ing as I did upon the full protection of my Government. 
Mr. Jay, however, was confident in his power of evil, 
and in that confidence boasted of his intent to destroy 
my Commission long before I reached Vienna, if I am 
to believe the reports of those who claim to have re- 
ceived such information. While I remained in the coun- 
try his efforts in this connection were fruitless, but as 
soon as my departure was known, he made such use of 
the telegraphic cable as to prove that his boasts were not 
vain. 

I can well appreciate the harshness^and power of these 
telegrams. As I read them now in the pages before me, 
I can understand how they affected the Honorable Sec- 
retary of State, who felt called upon to act upon the pojs- 



6 

itive statements of the Government's accredited minis- 
ter; but I suggest that had these messages been 
communicated to me and my reply requested 
I could have given to the Government such 
explanations, backed by incontestable evidence, that the 
great scandal which foUov/ed, and the public disgrace 
in a foreign land, of officers bearing U. S. Commissions, 
must have been averted. 

Assassination has never, under any circumstances, 
been considered a manly act, but poisoning the guest at 
one's table, or using the poinard at one's fireside, has al- 
ways been held the resort of the most despicable 
cowardice and villainy. On the 20th of April, in reply 
ta a letter from the Secretary of State, Mr. Jay wrote 
^p. 11^) : "I note the hope which you express that 'there 
may be an entire and cordial understanding between 
myself and the Commissioner,' and beg to say that I 
will use my best endeavors to accomplish your wishes in 
this respect." And on the 16th he added (p. 119) : "My 
relations with General Yan Buren are friendly, and he 
and his wife dine with me to-morrow." This is true! 
We did dine at his table ; but little did I suspect, while 
enjoying his hospitalities, that the guests about that 
tisble had been confidentially informed that I was to be re- 
moved in disgrace, and that the same information was in 
possession of restaurant keepers and others in Vienna. 
Tiiat such was the fact, however, I have been again and 
again assured. 

The motive of Mr. Jay in his crusade against my com- 
mission it is scarcely necessary here to analyze. But if 
any unpredjudiced man can gather from a perusal of this 
record, as made up by himself, that it was to guard the 
reputation and honor of his country, I shall make no 



effort to convince that man to the contrary. The fact 
remains that his designs were successful, and the result 
of his efforts to justify his acts is seen in the evidence 
and reports he has filed with the Department. 

" THE SPECIAL COMMISSION." 

I have once before protested against the character oj 
the tribunal established upon the recommendation of 
Mr. Jay, to carry out his purposes, and I now desire to 
renew that protest in the most earnest terms. Mr. Jay, 
my accuser and f<:e, whose persistent endeavors to 
destroy my commission were, even at that time, a public 
scandal, was made chief judge and manager, and his 
assistant on the bench was selected from my own 
appointees, who was thus made judge over his chief, his 
fellow Commissioners and himself. Having theretofore 
held a federal office in New York City, he was removed 
by the President with charges standing against him for 
malfeasance in ofl&ce, which charges are still unexplained^ 
and which were unknown to me at the time of his 
appointment. Both on this account and because he was 
one of the Assistant Commissioners which the tribunal 
was authorized to suspend, I submit he was entirely 
disqualified from acting as a member of it. No right- 
minded men, situated as were Messrs. Jay and McElrath, 
could have consented to serve on the examining com- 
mission. They were estopped by their positions and 
previous acts, and could never be considered as fair or 
impartial judges. But not only did Mr. McElrath sit as 
examiner and judge, but he became a swift wiiness, de- 
tailing conversations brought about by himself, and the 
gossip of the streets and hotels. Going about iiom Gen- 
eral Meyer to myself, claiming to be the especial friend 
of each, he faithfully carried out the tactics of his 



principal, and commended himself to tlie good graces 
of tliat high-minded official. 

I protest also that the proceedings of that tribunal, as 
conducted by Messrs. Jay and McElrath, and which I 
believe to have been contrary to the wishes and intent 
of the Government, were without warrant in the Const i- 
tution, laws or precedents of our country, and were sub- 
versive of the rights of citizens. 

In the first place, their examinations were secret. 
Each witness was examined by himself, without the 
presence of any parties except the examiners and their 
clerk. Mr. Jay was understood to be the manager of the 
American Department of the Exhibition, and held in his 
hand the rights of exhibitors and the reputation and 
official life of the Commissioners — while Mr. McElrath 
was but his agent and echo. 

I was not permitted to be present at an}^ of the exam- 
inations, or to cross-examine a single witness, although I 
demanded such right. In some cases, as I am in- 
formed, the evidence was not fully or correctly taken. 

One striking instance of this omission occurs in my 
own testimony. During the course of my examination, I 
was handed a list of the associate Commissioners, and 
asked by Mr. Jay to indicate those of foreign hirtli. 

I pointed out the names of some I supposed to be 
adopted citizens, but replied that I had not asked a 
man's birth-place, in selecting my assistants ; that I 
thought if that question was ignored in raising soldiers 
for our defense, it could be dispensed with in the choice 
of commissioners at an exhibition. He asked me a 
number of questions in reference to this matter, and yet 
not one word of it all appears in the reported testimony. 

Mr. Jay's hostility to untitled foreigners was currently 



reported at Vienna ; but lie seems to have thouglit it 
imprudent to permit any indications of such disposition 
on his part to appear in a report to his Government, and 
which might be made known to the people of our 
country. 

The value of cross-examination has been too often 
demonstrated, and the right too well established to need 
discussion here. Had that right been accorded in this 
instance, I think no comments would have been necessa- 
ry upon the result. But not only was I not permitted to 
examine or cross-examine witnesses, but I was denied 
the right to hear the evidence after it was taken. The 
great mass of testimony I have never seen or heard 
until I read it in the book before me. Upon my de- 
mand, Mr. Jay has reluctantly, now and then, stated 
what he called " the material portions of the evidence of 
a witness ;" but, as I read the testimony now, I find that 
much he has deemed material enough to form the basis 
of the most virulent portions of his report was kept con- 
cealed from me. 

GENEEAL MAYER. 

It is hardly necessary to say that I had formed a sin- 
cere attachment for General Mayer. His labors as 
Commissioner had been performed under my eye. 
Early and late, for many months, he toiled in the office 
of the Commission, doing an amount of patient and se- 
vere work that won for him my warm approval and re- 
gard. I found him an amiable and accomplished man, 
meeting the constant vexations of his position with pa- 
tience and courtesy, and apparently doing all it was 
in his power to do for the success of the Exhibition. 
Mr. Jay cannot understand how these quahties could 
have thus commended this man to me. In his opinion, 



10 



such regard as I manifested for him was the proof of 
some guilty commerce between us. Entertaining this 
regard, and feeling the most perfect confidence in 
Mayer's integrity, I scorned the temptation held out to 
me by Mr. McElrath, to turn my back upon him when 
attacked in Vienna. I stood hj him, because I believed 
him innocent of wrong, and that he was to be made the 
victim of a base conspirac}^ 

It may be considered by Messrs. Jay and McElrath a 
})raiseworthy virtue to desert a man under such circum- 
stances. To me, it w^as simple duty to stand by him 
until convicted of wrong. This sealed my condemnation 
and I was removed. 

Every effort, from that time forth, on the part of 
Tvlessrs. Jay and McElrath, their spies and informers,. 
was to justify or excuse this removal. The " investiga- 
tion " (a siinple reading of the evidence will show) was 
not to ascertain the truth, but to get hold of something,, 
however trivial or from whatever source, against me, 
To that end, witnesses v/ere sought for and plied with 
innumerable questions, clearly indicating the desires of 
their examiners. Mayer has asserted over and over 
again, that they intimated advantages to him if he w^ould 
only testify something to my injury, and that his inva- 
riable reply was that "he had nothing but good to say of 
me." True, he quibbles about this, when called before 
them in my absence, still entertaining the hope that 
those august and powerful gentlemen would modify his 
sentence , but he repeats it in his letter to the President, 
which I have read, for the first time, since my return, in 
these words : " Yes, sir ; I solemnly swear that induce- 
ments have been held out to me that, if I would testify 



11 

against General Yan Buren, I should be vindicated and,, 
no doubt, reinstated." 

They succeeded in obtaining some general statements 
from liim. " He luid acted under his superior ; " " Gen- 
eral Van Buren approved his acts ; " " General Yan 
Buren knev/ of his obtaining the second thousand dol- 
lars," etc. Up to this time nothing immoral had 
appeared in his acts. Now, under the manipulation of 
this secret council and its agents, he partially sold him- 
self to their base uses, and falsely endeavored to cast 
wrong upon me. 

Only a portion of his testimony was even stated to 
me. On his examination, on the 22d of April, he 
produced and spread upon the record a letter addressed 
to me on the 16th, but which I did not receive until 
some time afterwards, and which was evidently written 
for the purpose of making it testimony. In a personal 
interview, after its receipt, he so explained it away and 
apologized for it that no reply was necessary. A subse- 
quent one, however, of a somewhat similar 
character, received the answer it deserved. Had- 
I known that either of his letters was made 
a part of the evidence, I should have in- 
sisted upon their receiving my reply ; — and I now 
insert extracts from it, that the intention of Messrs. Jay 
and McElrath, in having it stand as an uncontradicted 
accusation on the part of Mayer, may be frustrated. 

EXTEACTS FROM MY LETTER TO MAYER. 

Could I be surprised at anything nowadays, I should ex- 
press my profound astonishment at the contents of your 
letter, in which you refuse to deliver to me the accounts and 
monies of the Commission, and accuse me of various offences. 

The friendship and confidence you have received from me 
have been of no ordinary character. * * * I have 
steadily maintained this attachment, as no one knows better 



12 

than yourself, under the most tvymg circumstances. Your 
industry, devotion to your duties and professed regard for 
me were the basis of my trust. * * i ^yas fully per- 
suaded you were true, honest and upright. * * When 
trouble came to you in London, I sympathized with you most 
'deeply, and expressed my hope and belief that you would 
triumph over your difficulties. * * I bade you go on to 
Tienna, to have a brave heart, and do all you could for the 
exhibitors. * * * * j^^^ j^^^^ have you repaid 
me? You say you have been to me " true as steel," and have 
lime and again expressed for me the most extravagant attach- 
ment. ******** 

Let us see how you have proven your regard. When you 
reached Vienna you informed Mr. McElrath that I had told 
you "to go right ahead and act as a Commissioner, as if you 
had not been suspended," thus charging me with direct dis- 
obedience to the orders of the State Department. 

You stated you had never done a thing except by my 
orders. 

You threatened to more than one person that if you were 
"to fall, "you would drag down the whole Commission with 
you ; " and to one, at least, that " if you were disgraced you 
intended to fall in good company, for General Van Buren 
should fall with you." When I learned that you had bor- 
rowed money from Boehm&Wiehl, I enquired of you if it 
were true, and you totally denied it; and when McElrath 
itried to persuade me you had done so, I affirmed it was un- 
true, because you had denied it. 

Afterwards, when it was positively stated that you had 
•obtained $1,000 of B. & W., * * you said to me you 
would explain that when you met those gentlemen face to 
lace before Mr. Jay. A week afterwards you did so meet 
them, and I was astounded to learn that you had there 
acknowledged the receipt of the money and they had sworn 
±0 it. I afterwards learned, from Hitzel, that you had also 
received $500 from Mr. Dennison ; and a day or so since I was 
informed you had demanded and received $1,000 from the 
publisher of the catalogue. * * * « j have sev- 
■eral times asked you why you did not go and finish your tes- 
timony, and have told you that if you had nothing to say 
^against me your staying away would do me more harm than 
good, but your invariable answer has been, as before — a re- 
fusal. I have then said to you not to go there at ail. In this 
connection, and no other, Irave I ever advised you not to go 
to the embassy, and you know it. * * * * 

I now learn that you went to the S])ecial Commission and 
testified that * * * j knew of your obtaining the 
$1,000 from B. & W. which you had once denied receiving at 



13 

«,11, and afterwards said to me you would explain in their 
presence. You said I had taken Stiasuey out of the way in 
order that you might get the money without his knowing it, 
when you know, as well as you know that you live, that I 
never dreamed of your having obtained this money from B. 
& W. * * =1^ * * Having nothing to conceal I 
stated fully and clearly, in my first statement before the 
Special Commission, all I knew about these transactions, and 
you said to me that what I had stated was the truth, and you 
would testify to the same thing. 

This is the way in which you have proved yourself "true as 
steel." Much of it has come to me vdthin a few days. * 

* * * * Now, in reference to mone^' matters. 
How you dare, under any advice, retain Government monies 
■committed to your keeping for a special purpose I cannot 
conceive ! Your orders were to bring that money to me in 
Tienna. It is not yours in any sense. You were simpl^^ its 
-custodian. It was drawn upon a requisition, stating precise- 
ly its uses, and is charged to me. It cannot legally be used 
for any other purposes than those stated in the requisition, 
and I warn you that your attempt to convert it to your own 
use will result disastrously. You are taking the very course 
to justify the Government in its treatment of you. 

I would not have had my faith in you shattered for ten 
times the money involved. You v/ill now probably do me 
'•every possible injury, if there is anything more you can do. 

Let me say to you that I deprecate no hostility and ask no 
favors. There is no kindness I have not shown you. You 
now repay me in the way of the world, and confirm my deter- 
jnination to trust man no more. 

After the receipt of this letter by Mayer the latter in- 
iormed me that certain statements made by liim in his 
testimony, he was convinced, were erroneous. That upon 
examinations of papers he was satisfied he had mistaken 
■dates wdiich made portions of his evidence incorrect, 
and that he had told or written to Mr. Jay not to 
use it on that account. He again stated that he 
knew nothing whatever to my injury, again expressed 
Ms undying attachment for me, and then, for the first 
time, admitted the receipt of the $1,000 from Boehni & 
Wiehl, which he had theretofore strenuously denied, in 
these words ; " General, I did receive that money. I 



14 

got $500 wlien you were in Wasliington, and $500 af 
another time." Had his testimony all been read to me^- 
these facts would have appeared upon the record. As;- 
to Mr. Stiasney's testimony, could I have been present 
when it was given, I should have proven by him that it 
was my daily custom to leave the lunch or dinner table- 
as soon as I had finished, and hurry to my business,., 
sometimes taking him, sometimes Mayer, sometimes go- 
ing alone. 

Upon my asking him in Vienna if this was not so, he 
admitted that it was ; and to my further enquiry how it 
w^as he could remember that " I called him away " on;. 
the particular day mentioned in his evidence, he said h.& 
was " made to remember," or vfords to that effect. 

Mr. Wiehl, in his testimony, tells very plainly how he-^ 
came to form the impression that I had taken Stiasney 
away on that occasion. He says "Mayer or some one^ 
made a remark to that effect." 

CHARGES. 

The first charges of Mr, Jay v>'ere that there was evi-- 
dence of " gross cGrriiption in the commission in the sale> 
of concessions for bars and restaurants." 

These charges I denounced as /bid and false. I repeat- 
that statement and refer to the evidence as my justifica- 
tion. His next allegations were that it was clearly showm 
by my " admissions," and by the evidence, that I " bad- 
taken money from tlie grantees of bars and restaurants."' 
1 respectfully insist there is no such admission or evi- 
dence upon the record ; but on the contrarj^, there is mj 
explicit denial again and again repeated. And I submit^ 
also, that had the Government had that evidence before 
them, instead of Messrs. Jay and McElrath's report o£ 



15 



its character, tke removal and disgrace of my Commis- 
.moTL could never have taken place. 

CONCEALMENT OF TELEGKAMS. 

Again I beg to call your attention to the fact that the 
telegrams of the Honorable Secretarj^ of State to Mr. 
vjaj under dates of April 26th and 28th in which he evi- 
^iences his deshe that myself and my associates should 
receive fair treatment, and that I should not be excluded 
fi-om the opening ceremonies on the first of May, were 
kept carefully concealed from me by Mr. Jay, while he 
.•assured my friends that his task was a very hard and un- 
j)leasant one, for " General Van Buren was an old fi'iend 
:«of his," — thus seeking to make it appear that he was the 
mnwilhng instrument of the State Department in carrying 
voiit its harsh decrees. 

Certainly neither the interests nor reputation of our 
'Government required such a system of concealment, 
fraud, secret examinations, withholding and garbling evi- 
dence and general unfairness ; and I am confident it will, 
when fully understood, meet the condemnation of the 
^Secretary to whom I wish here to acknowledge my obli- 
gations for many acts of courtesy and kindness, and 
especially for his effort to arrest the injustice done m}- 
iself and my commission, which I have learned, for the 
:.&'st time, on reading this volume. 

DELAYS IN MAKING EEPOKT. 

Mr. Jay, in his dispatches of April 28th and 30tli says, 
fchat no restoration of a commissioner should take place 
amtil the President could review all the facts and the tes- 
timony. Let it be remarked that the " investigation," so 
^•called, never closed until the 5th of July of this year, and 
^lien only upon the peremptory demand of the Depart- 



16 

ment of State ; and not until tliis demand was thrice 
repeated did he cease writing his final report which did 
not reach Washington nntil the 23d day of July. As an 
excuse for this delay, he reported to the Government 
that the examination was prolonged at the " request of 
the accused." By reference to the record it will be found 
that it was the evident intention of Messrs. Jay and Mc- 
Elrath that I should know nothing of the testimony and 
have no opportunity of explanation, and that the investi- 
gation should not close until it was too late for any 
action of the President in connection with the Exhibi- 
tion. 

I demanded, shortly after, the opening of their inquisi- 
tion to be present at its sittings. In answer to this 
I was called to give evidence, and informed by them, in 
writing, that if any testimony should be thereafter given 
which they should " deem affected the rights, interests or 
honor of the American People, or of American Exhibi- 
tors, or that justice to General Yan Buren himself should 
demand," it should be submitted to me for such com- 
ment or explanation as I saw fit to give. (p. 215). 

I received no sign, however, from the " Special Com- 
mission," and at last, moved by public rumor, I demand- 
ed again to be called before them for examination. That 
examination took place on the 16th of May, and no fur- 
ther excuse has been offered for not closing the testi- 
mony. 

The mass of evidence taken afterwards has no connec- 
tion with the charges made by Mr. Jay. 

Is it not a fair inference that they feared to submit to 
the Government the flimsy proofs upon which they had 
based their telegrams ? It is not true that I took money 
from the grantees of bars and restaurants. I permitted 



17 

General Mayer to loan to me $500 for Commission 
expenses, which he had borrowed upon the voluntarj 
offer of a man who had been granted a permit for a res- 
taurant. That this loan from Hitzel might have been 
unwise is possible ; that it was corrupt or fraudulent, or 
in any way intended to affect his concession is false, and 
so conclusively shown to be by the testimony. That it 
was an " irregularity " demanding the disapproval ^and 
condemnation of the Government, I cannot conceive. 

Reference to the testimony will show that the great 
mass of it had no relevancy to the matters committed tO' 
the Investigating Committee, and that none of it sup- 
ports the telegrams of Mr. Jay, or the scandalous sug- 
gestions, insinuations and conclusions of his report.. 
There is not a word in the evidence of any witness that 
charges me with the receipt of money except from Gen- 
eral Mayer. That I believed that the two sums so 
received by me came from the parties named, was never 
for a moment denied or concealed, but that it was ever 
received by me in the spirit or with the motives indicated 
by Mr. Jay, is without warrant in the evidence, and his- 
statements, therefore, in the telegrams of the 28th and 
29th of April, signed by Messrs. Jay and McElrath, that 
the taking of money from the grantees of bars and res- 
taurants had been admitted by me and proven by the 
evidence, were untrue in every essential particular. 

My misfortune in this connection, is that Messrs. Jay 
and McElrath are shielded by their official positions from 
legal retribution ; and I am therefore compelled to expose 
their duplicity in my communications to 3/ou and to look 
to you for justice. 

Before proceeding to analyze the report, I beg to 



18 



refer briefly to the claaracter of the witnesses upon whose 
evidence it is chiefly based. 

WITNESSES. 

Mr. Henry L. Jewett, who appears to have been Mr. 
Jay's chief reliance in framing his charges, and who 
acted as his confidential friend and advisor, I learn was 
formerly connected with the collection of U. S. revenues 
.at Brooklyn, N. Y. 

His reputation there is not enviable, as I will show if 
•opportunity offers. And that reputation has not been 
improved at Yienna. 

His motive in serving Mr. Jay was simply to prevent 
his former partner, wiiom he had swindled out of his 
permit, from obtaining any place on the Exhibition 
grounds. 

In gratitude for his services, Mr. Jay recommends him 
to the gracious protection of the Government, (p. 548) 
but unfortunately for the harmony of this understanding, 
the recommendatien had scarcely been received at 
Washington before news came that Jewett had abscond- 
ed from Yienna, ov/ing a very large amount of money, 
and leaving his employees in a state of destitution. Mr. 
Jay's opinion as to the " explosion of this great scandal 
at Yienna " would prove interesting reading. 

Mr. James, v/ho was strongly recommended to me by 
Mr. Jay for Chief Engineer, and who was appointed an 
Assistant Commissioner, was chiefly useful in carrying 
rumors and reports of restaurant and bar-room ccmver- 
sations to the embassy (p. 100). Who this young man 
is, I have briefly stated in my letter to the Department 
(p. 136). His services in the commission consisted in 
^spying and reporting for Mr. Jay, and in making a con- 
tract for roofing and flooring the court yard, which was 



19 

ireely denounced in Vienna as a fraud, and tlie price 
sworn to, to have been double wliat it should have been. 

It was publicly charged in Vienna that James received 
a large per centage on this contract. The examination 
of this charge by Messrs. Jay and McElrath I submit 
was a farce, and the impropriety of their sitting in judg- 
ment upon it must be manifest. James was the con- 
fidant of Jay, and Mr. McElrath had himself signed 
the contract which was the subject of examination. Let 
it be remembered that I refused to make a payment 
on this contract ; that I was removed from the commis- 
sion, and the contract satisfied by Mr. Jay. 

Mr. Stillman, the third of this interesting trio, was 
employed conjointly with James in reporting street and 
bar room gossip at the embassy, and in reflecting the 
views of Mr. Jay in scurrilous letters to The New York 
Tribune. 

His performances as Consul in Crete are notorious. 
He has resided in England for some 17 years ; entertains 
an inveterate hatred against everything American, and 
" is ready for a job." In what coin Mr. Jay paid for his 
services I don't stop to enquire, but only know that his 
intimacy at the embassy was the subject of much com- 
ment in Vienna. 

These three "nobiles fratres" were the especial friends 
and intimates of Mr. Jay, and their information, advice 
and assistance he has acknowledged in his dispatches 
-and report. 

General Mayer, who was denounced by Mr. Jay as 
corrupt and unworthy, and as guilty, in his estimation, 
of the far worse crime of having been born on Austrian 
soil, of untitled parents, and perhaps of belonging to 
the Jewish faith, is held to be a good enough witness to 



20 

condemn me. To the influences whicli induced General 
Mayer's testimony and its character, I have referred in 
another part of this communication. That he ever 
showed me a letter, which I forbid his publishing in the 
Vienna papers, as detailed by Stillman, is unequivocally 
false. 

THE REPORT. 

The evident unfairness of the report ; its character as 
a special pleading ; its labcJred attempts to twist and 
torture the testimony to my discredit ; its imputations 
of unworthy motives for the most upright acts, and its 
general tone of malignity, I should suppose would 
stamp it with you as unworthy of consideration ; but as 
it forms part of the record, I propose briefly to anal- 
yze it. 

After opening with an announcement of the exceeding- 
fairness of the examination, like the label of a patent 
medicine, this document states that the " rumors investi- 
gated related chiefly to charges of jobbing and corrup- 
tion connected with the issue of permits in New York ; 
and next to charges of careless and inefficient manage- 
ment." 

Mr. Jay's telegrams and letters which led to the crea- 
tion of his commission charged " corruption " distinctly, 
and this charge is repeated in his report of the 22d of 
April, (p. 132.) 

In reply and in reference to this charge and this only 
was the examining tribunal commissioned, in these 
words : 

"By order of the President, you and Thomas 
McElrath are appointed a special commission, with 
power to supervise the whole Commission to Vienna. 
You will examine and report fully, and are hereby 



21 

autiiorized to suspend temporaiily any person or per- 
sons appointed prior to 20tli of March last, reporting 
the facts and the grounds of suspension." 

What were these men ordered to " examine and report 
fully " if not the charges and rumors reported by Mr. 
Jay ? I do not believe it v/as ever contemplated by the 
Government that the investigation was to extend over 
months and go into the entire workings of the Commis- 
sion, and the private, public and family history and ped- 
igree of each Commissioner. 

It is evident from the order of the State Department 
above referred to, from the various telegrams to Mr. Jay 
demanding speedy examination and report, and the re- 
peated orders to him to close the investigation and for- 
ward the papers to Washington, that t)ie expectation of 
the Government was that the facis would be quickly 
gathered and laid before the President for his action. 

I submit that by his failure to comply v>dth these 
wishes of the Department, so often repeated, Mr. Jay 
lias shown his. motives to have been personal and not 
patriotic. 

LOAN FROM HITZEL. 

After reciting, with much circumlocution, the borrow- 
ing by Mayer from Hitzel of $500 and its subsequent 
use by me for expenses of the Commission, which wan 
related fully to Mr. Jay at my first interview with him 
after m}'- arrival in Vienna, and repeated in my formal 
evidence, the report goes on to say (p. 466): 

"Although Mayer appears in this and other cases to 
have accepted and acted upon the view suggested b}'' 
General Van Buren, to an extent of which Gen. V. B. 
himself declares he had no idea, Mr. Mayer's remark to 
Mr. Boehm on his arrival at Vienna, that there was 



22 

trouble ahead, seemed to intimate tliat wliile iie had 
practically adopted General Yan Buren's advice, he was 
still doubtful either of its moral soundness or of its ap- 
proval by the American people." 

Were I not dealing with such a high dignitary as the 
^Imerican Minister to Austria, I should characterize this 
as contemptible pettifogging. 

Nowhere does it appear that I gave advice to Mayer 
to get money, and his statement to Boehm that there 
"was trouble ahead," after he (Mayer) had been sus- 
pended by the procurement of Mr. Jay, was as much an 
indication of his "doubts as to the moral soundness " of 
Ins acts as it was of his belief in Mr. Jay's patriotism 
and sense. 

The suggestion that accepting a loan from Hitzel 
could not be like that from a bank, because Hitzel was 
not a capitalist, is worthy the profound minds from 
which it eminated. 

Mayer's statement that Stiasney and himself did not 
think Hitzel a proper person to come to Vienna, is 
dbectly contradicted by Maj^er's own testimony, (p. 219) 
when he says : 

•' Knowing him (Hitzel) to be a sober, good man, [I 
told him] if General Van Buren was inclined to give 
him such permission [to erect a restaurant] I would 
speak a good word for it. I mentioned the subject to 
General Van Buren. Gen. V. B. at that time, however, 
had some conversation with a restaurateur named Cable 
and paid no attention to Hitzel until he found some ob- 
jection on Cable's part to going." 

Mr. Jay makes no reference to this, but goes on to 
state that the manner of Hitzel's payment hardly sus- 
tains the parallel between himself and a banker, inasmucK 



23 

fis Mayer says " the money was liauded to liim in small 
sums, on different occasions." 

I only refer to tliis profound argument in order to 
show how it ignores the evidence and seeks to convey 
an entirety false idea of the facts. 

First— Jewett (on page 171) says : "My impression is,, 
the first check was for $500, drawn by Henry Schwaz, 
306 Broadway;" and Hitzel swears (p. 275) : "I had 
given Mayer ($1,000), in two sums — a check for $500 of 
Henry Schwaz, and the rest ($500), which was paid in 
three checks, he paid back." 

No word of Mayer's evidence to the contrary was ever- 
read or shown to me, nor was I asked the question as to 
the shape in which this loan was made. 

" But," says this ingenious accuser, prosecutor and 
judge, " the dependence of Plitzel upon Yan Buren is 
shown by the testimony of the latter, ' that he told Hit- 
zel, as he had told the others, that their places should 
be under strict police surveillance.' " (p. 468.) 

Can anything be clearer? Is not corruption plainly 
proven in this extraordinary conduct of the Commission- 
er, in which he expresses his determination to see that 
no disorderly acts should be tolerated in any of these 
places ? 

The statement of Mayer to which the report alludes, 
(p. 469) that the loan by Hitzel of $500 was in accord- 
ance with a former conversation by me with Hitzel, in 
his presence, was never shown to me by Mr. Jay, is 
utterly untrue, and is expressly contradicted by Hitzel 
(p. 276) when he says, "I never spoke to General Van 
Buren on the matter." 

To the page of special pleading, (472) in which Mr. 
Jay exhausts his indignant virtue in denouncing a loan. 



24 • 

or other receipt of money from Hitzel, I have to reply 
that the " dignity and honor " of the Commission was 
iiot assailed by Hitzel, nor was it in his power to do so. 
It was left for Mr. Jay and his special favorite, the res- 
tanrateiir and bar-keeper, Jewett, to make this assault 
and bring disgrace upon the American name, not throngh 
anything done by the Commission, but by the inexcusa- 
ble conduct of the American Minister. 

EXCUSE GIVEN BY MK. JAY. 

In this connection I beg to call your attention to the 
excuse given by Mr. Jay for his interference with my 
■commission, and the struggle on the part of Messrs. Jay 
and Jewett to justify that interference afterwards. Says 
Mr. Jay, (p. 92) " Conscious that such a scandal, if ex- 
jjloded in Vienna, amid an assemblage of the nations, 
would bring upon the Administration and the country a 
reproach more w^orld-wide than any produced by local 
corruptions at home, &c., &c., I did not hesitate, &c., <fec." 
On page 97 will be found a record of his efforts to pre- 
vent " the explosion " he so much deprecates. And the 
striking contrast of the conduct of himself and his 
friend Jewett upon the one side, and the plain common 
sense of Mr. Y/iehl upon the other, does not redound to 
Mr. Jay's credit. Jewett, at the suggestion of James, it 
seems, had established his intimacy with Mr. Jay, and 
had persuaded Mr. Weihl to accompany him to the 
Embassy, (p. 97.) When there Mr. Jay eagerly seized 
his pen, " and," he says, " I intimated to Mr. Jewett 
that I was ready to make a note of the conversation. 
As he was beginning, Mr. Wiehl said, ' Stop a moment ; 
I don't think I am ready to say anything to-day, at all 
events, without consulting my partner. It icill stir iip a 
great row, and ].xrJiaps it had better he left alone. Mayer 



25 

lias clone very wrong, but I don't like to put a gentleman 
in a false position.' " 

I submit to jou, Mr. Secretary, did not Wielil, in 
these simple sentences, express your sentiments and 
those of the American people universally, and justify the 
confidence I had placed in him as a decent and honor- 
able man? Had my Commission been guilty of all thai 
Mr. Jay charged, multijcilied a hundredfold, was it his busi- 
')iess to spread it out before the gathered, too rid at Vienna, 
and fill loith its details the ^letvsjxqoers of every nation ? 
Was it not his duty, on the contrary, as the American Min- 
ister, to hush lip the scandal, to Iceep the name and honor of 
his country untarnished, to labor for the success of the Amer- 
ican Department of the Exhibition, and after its close to 
p)resent his charges and p)roofs to the Government, and have 
the investigation at home ? 

Mr. Jewett, however, with the approving smiles of Mr. 
Jay, replied to this remonstrance from Mr. Wiehl, that 
he wanted " to take the lead in exposing the scandal," 
and desired him (Wiehl) to join in the proceeding. 
" Mr. Wiehl replied, he must consult his partner." 

Says Mr. Jay, " You may come, if you please, to-mor- 
row, at half past eleven," etc., and then adds, " As they 
were going, I recalled Mr. JcAvett, and said that perhaps 
he had better let me know what Messrs. Boehm & Wiehl 
resolved to do," or, in other words, " Try and get Wiehl 
to testify, and loe will manage to break up the commission 
yetr 

The next day, Mr. Jay says, (p. 100) " I Avrote you 
yesterday of an interview with Mr. Jewett and Mr. 
Wielil. This morning Mr. Wiehl came alone, and said 
that he and his partner had resolved not to say anything 
iibout their treatment by Mr. Mayer. Mr. Jewett 



26 

might do as lie pleased, hut they proposed to go on qidetlij.''' 
"if they were required to say what passed, they would 
tell the truth, hut they did not wish to mahe a disturhaitce,''' 
etc. 

Ah ! but Messrs. Jay and Jewett did not wish things 
to " go on quietly." They did want " a disturbance," 
and so they forced matters on until Mr. "Wiehl supposed 
himself obliged to give his evidence, which evidence, as 
I shall show, has been garbled and misquoted by Mr. 
Jay in his report. 

MONEY NOT CREDITED. 

" The money, although alleged to have been paid to 
them officially, as Commissioners, was never credited ta 
the Commission," says the report. So far as I had 
knowledge of any money transactions, the one was a. 
personal loan, and the other a subscription to be re- 
turned under certain circumstances. Had the subscrip- 
tion been 'used, it would have appeared on the record, as 
ordered by me. It was not used, but returned. These 
facts are repeatedly sworn to by every witness who had 
knowledge of the transaction. 

THE THIRD THOUSAND DOLLARS. 

I wish now to call, the attention of the Government 
particularly to that portion of the report commencing on 
page 480, in reference to what is called " the third thou- 
sand dollars,'' which I charge as a deliberate misstate- 
ment of the testimon}^, amounting almost to forgery. 

There is no mention made in any part of the evidence 
of Boehm & "Wiehl or Mayer, of a " third thousand dol- 
lars." 

Boehm says (p. 181), " The first $1,000 was a subscrip- 
tion to the School House. The second, Mayer said he 
would pay back when he came to Vienna " ; and again 



27 

(p. 182) " Tico fliousand cloUars is all that has been paid lij 
the firm of Bochm. d: . Wield. No more has hen asl-ed for 
from them.'' 

Mr. Wielil, from whose evidence a quotation is mad& 
in this report, to justify its shocking perversion of facts, 
distinctly states, in that very evidence (p. 216), " While 
Mr. Boehm may have said," (referring to Jewett's re- 
ports), " that it cost us $3,000, o^dy $2,000 icas paid the- 
Comm.issio'n, as stated. The other $1,000 was paid to my 
lawyer, and had no connection with the Commission. I 
do not know of any other sum being paid to the Com- 
mission." 

What respect can be paid to the allegations and argu- 
ments of men who, with these facts before them, can re- 
port to the Government exactly the contrary-, and what 
shall be said of an American Minister who can prosti- 
tute his official name to such base uses ? 

Another unfounded statement appears in this report,- 
on page 490, where it is written that a personal letter 
from myself to Mr. James, " dated at sea, March 23," 
contains a reference to " General Mayer's suspension."" 
It is only necessary to remember that I had no knowl- 
edge of General Mayer's suspension until after I had 
reached Liverpool, to see that no such reference could 
have been made in that letter. 

I submit that meddling with my private letters by 
Messrs. Jay and McElrath, was a high handed outrage 
at which most men would have hesitated ; but I shall 
ask you to characterize the act of suppressing the letter 
and misquoting its contents. 

My statements in that letter were in reference to cor- 
respondence and conversations with you upon the sub- 
ject of Mr. Jay's latest communications previous to my 



28 

leaving 'New York. The fact that James carried this 
and all my letters to Mr. Jay I did not then know. It 
shows their relation to each other, and, I submit, justi- 
fies my assertions upon that subject. 

While upon this topic, I venture to quote a few lines 
from a letter dated also " at sea," but addressed by me 
to Mr. Jay, to which he makes no reference. 

I say, " During this long time of working and waiting, 
you and I have been carrying on what appeared to be a 
friendly correspondence. You have given me your 
view^s upon the proper conduct of the Commission, have 
suggested various ways of working up enthusiasm and 
procuring articles for exhibition, and have laid out pro- 
grammes for me of a character requiring a vast amount 
of funds and the support of a vast number of men. 

" I read your letters with every respect, but have ig- 
nored your programmes, for the reason that everything 
of value in them I had tried long before, so far as my 
means and the circumstances would permit. Your let- 
ters to me I held as personal and confidential, and I 
fully believed you were treating mine in the same man- 
ner. My letters were intended to be friendly confer- 
ences with one who I thought had given me his sympa- 
thy in my undertaking. 

" You may, perhaps, then imagine my feelings, when I 
ascertained that while I was thus writing private, confi- 
dential, friendly letters to you, and receiving what ap- 
peared to be the same in reply, tjou were forwarding to 
the Department of State special despatches upon the 
subject of those letters, as well as private telegrams and 
letters to Mr. Eish, in which every expression of my 
fears, wrung from an overburdened body and mind, that 
the delays in Congress, and the general apathy, might yet 



29 

render all my toil and expenditures valueless, was made 
to appear as evidence of my incapacity, or sometliing 
■worse. 

" Not content even with this, you have charged that 
my only letters to Bdron Schwarz Senborn w^ere com- 
plaints as to bars and restaurants ; and, finally, your 
efforts have culminated in accusations of corruption and 
fraud. 

*' Now, I am not going to place myself on the defen- 
sive in any of these matters, nor do I feel called upon to 
make explanations to you. I vvill simply say that my 
<3orrespondence with Baron Schwarz has been through- 
out of a satisfactory character, and that you are in 
possession of very little knowledge concerning it ; and 
that, when I reach Vienna, I shall endeavor to under- 
stand and expose the cowardly character of all assaults 
iipon my honor, in whatever quarter they may have 
originated. 

" In the meantiDie, I can only express my surprise 
;and regret at the course you have seen fit to pursue." 

The use of this private letter might have saved the ne- 
cessity of appropriating and misquoting that to James. 
Its contents, however, will sufficiently explain why no 
■.^se was made of it. 

. ""^His programmes sound like the proclamation of a 
•Ohinese emperor," I had said in another letter to James, 
which had been immediately carried to Mr. Jay, and 
^served to inflame the latter's zeal in the " service of his 
-country." 

CHARACTEE OF THE AMERICAN PEPARTMENT. 

On page 506 of the report, begins a long criticism 
upon the character of the American department of the 
Exhibition, and of my correspondence and representa- 



30 

tions upon the subject. Tins piece of special pleading" 
seems to me an impertinence not warranted by the 
authority under which, the Special Commission was act- 
ing, or the facts and circumstances to which it refers. 

To undertake to belittle my labors and misrepresent 
my situa^tion, seems to have been a favorite pastime of 
Mr. Jay's, from the time of my appointment. 

I shall be able to show, by evidence that cannot be 
questioned, the faithful and disinterested character of 
my efforts, the difficulties with which I had to contend^ 
the obstacles I overcame, and the success which attend- 
ed my work, 

Mr. Jay takes exceptions to my remark that I would 
have been justified in not advancing money or devoting 
my entire time and exertions in procuring an exhibition 
from the United States, until after an appropriation by 
Congress. The importance and value of the services of 
Mr. Jay are doubtless very great. His triumphs as a. 
diplomat, are they not written in the archives of the State 
Department, and his exalted reputation as the most suc- 
cessful representative of democratic-republican institu- 
tions in all Europe, does it not add lustre to our Gov- 
ernment? He receives for all this expenditure of 
profundity, elegance and politeness the sum of $12,500, in. 
gold, yearly, in addition to some thousands for an outfit- 
Besides he has the diplomatic privilege of entering,, 
free of duty, certain articles for his household ; for an 
over-exercise of which privilege, I am told, he has been, 
taken to task by the Austrian Government. 

I fail to discover in these facts evidence of that disin- 
terestedness and selfsacrifice which Mr. Jay so eloquent- 
ly commends. Whatever my theory of the obligations- 
of my official position, I did labor early and late, with- 



31 

out reward and at m}' own expense, with no cer- 
tainty of being reimbursed a dollar. 

x4.nd here let me remark that the amount of that out- 
lay is not to be measured by the accounts ren- 
dered, by me, to the Government. The expenses to 
which I was subjected on account of my position, ex- 
hausted my entire income, and have left me burdened 
with debt. 

So far as I have been able to ascertain,. I was the only 
Commissioner, from any nation, who was obliged to 
dance attendance at the seat of Government, begging an 
appropriation of money to secure an exhibition of his 
country's products. Every other government made its 
appropriation Avithout solicitation from the Commission- 
er, and at a time when it could be used to the greatest 
advantage. 

I think it cannot be denied that, without my exertions, 
no appropriation would have been secured from Con- 
gress ; and that, without that appropriation, no exhibi- 
tion would have been possible from this country. I re- 
peat that until that appropriation was made, I would 
have been fully justified in not exhausting my time and 
means to secure such exhibition. 

As Commissioner from the United States, I could have 
performed the duty of visiting the Exhibition, and 
reporting to my Government my observations and such 
facts as were of value concerning it. Waiting, as I did, 
upon Congress from week to week, now hoping, now 
despairing, it is not to be wondered at that my letters 
reflected these different feelings. I was interested and 
anxious in my work, and no effort was spared in my 
office to make our department a success — as no effort 



32 

was afterward spared by the Honorable John Jay and^ 
his associates to depreciate and ruin it. 

I deny that in any fair sense our Exhibition was & 
failure. The want of large and shoY/y cases in which to 
exhibit the goods, made it less attractive to the eye than 
were the other departments ; but in the character of the 
materials, it was a success. This is proven by the num- 
ber of awards granted to exhibitors, and will, I am cer- 
tain, be fully demonstrated when the final report of the 
Commission is received. The attempt to convict me of 
misrepresentation as to the number of applications from 
exhibitors, seems to be based upon letters v/ritten by me 
to several gentlemen, members of Congress and others. 

I have onli^ to say that, while it is possible I may 
have used expressions in those letters somewhat exag- 
gerated, it remains true that more applications were re- 
ceived and more granted than we then had space at our 
command, and to add that this inquiry also is without 
the scope of Mr. Jay's authority. Many of the permits 
were not used on account of the delays in the appropria- 
tion, and others on account of the scandal created by 
Mr. Jay. He asserted in one of his letters that contri- 
butions other than those sent by me were secured. I 
challenge proof of this statement, which I insist is with- 
out the least foundation in fact. What was sent from 
this country was so sent by the devoted toil of myself 
and my associates. 

SPACE. 

This brings me to consider the question of space. 
From the number of applications, it appeared absolutely 
necessary to so arrange the uncovered portion of our 
space in the Exhibition building as to fit it for use. 
Upon this subject I corresponded with Mr. Jay and- 



33 

Assistant Commissioner James, and instructed the latter 
to liave the work done as speedily and cheaply as 
possible. His estimates forwarded to me increased with 
every mail, and seemed so extravagant and so dispro- 
portioned to the amount and character of the w^ork and 
materials required, that I did not hesitate to express my 
opinion to that effect. This was explained in his letters 
by charging it upon the piling and heavy side walls, ren- 
dered necessary, as it was said, by the character of the 
ground and weight of the superstructure. My distance 
from Vienna made me dependent upon the judgment of 
my assistants on the spot. Mr. McElrath reached. 
Vienna in time to examine the contract prepared by Mr. 
James for this work, and to execute it for the Commis- 
sion. This contract was for $30,000 of onr money in 
gold, papable in French coin, upon which there was a 
large premium, for a structure which proved to consist 
oi floor and roof cdone, without either piles or side walls, — 
the whole to revert to the eontractors at the close of the Exhi- 
hition. So that, in fact, the price paid was for the mere 
rental of the building for six months, while the rental 
of the space inside was again paid by exhibitors. 

In view of all these facts it is not to be wondered at- 
that witnesses gave it as their opinion that the structure 
should not have cost one half the amount, and that the 
the rumor was current in Vienna that the contract was- 
tainted with corruption. 

Under the circumstances, I refused to make a third- 
payment upon the contract, two having been made 
before my arrival. I was removed, and the contract im- 
mediately satisfied by Mr. Jay. Had there been other cov- 
ered space in the main hidldhvj, tvhich could have been pro- 



34 

-cured for our uses, it would have avoided any portion of this 
large expendittire. 

If it was ever within the scope of Mr. Jay's duty to 
see to this "business, clearly this was the time to 
exercise that suave wisdom and diplomatic skill for 
which he is distinguished. I do not find, however, 
from the record, that he took any steps whatever to se- 
cure such additional space. On the contrary, he 
approved the contract for covering the court yard, and 
made haste to pay the large sum named in it. 

After this was done, however, Mr. Jay suddenly 
awakened to the idea of securing more space, and when 
I reached Vienna he was radiant with triumph. Accord- 
ing to his own statements he had accomplished a great 
work. He had bombarded the Chief of the Austrian 
Commission, the British Minister and Commission, and 
the Commissioners from South America, with his un- 
answerable and almost unending diplomatic notes, and 
had finally succeeded in "backing England down from a 
portion of the space occupied by her," (to use his own 
words,) and secured one half the entire transept of South 
America for our use. 

The British Minister declimed any responsibility, it 
being reserved for the Minister from the U. S. to inter- 
fere with the Commission from his country. 

Had 31r. Jay, luith my api^roval, secured this additional 
space hefore covering the court yard, it ivould have obviated 
the necessitity of such covering. As it was, I cannot un- 
derstand by what authority he acted. Observe that it 
was done without consultation with the Commission, 
and just previous to the opening of the Exhibition. He 
had not secured an article to put in this space, and as / 



35 

had no conception it was to be procured, I had taken no 
steps to fill it. 

Had not this unwarranted interference taken place, or 
had he informed the Commission of his intentions in 
time, all our room in the Exhibition buildings would 
have been creditably filled. As it was he found himself 
with a large additional space on hand, to be paid for by 
the Government, and not an exhibitor to occupy it. 
After my removal, however, Mr. Jay, as supreme con- 
troller of our department, caused that new space to be 
first filled from the objects I had collected, leaving, of 
course, vacjancies in our original transept and court 
vard. And these very vacancies, thus created, he makes 
the subject of censure in his report. 

- ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

I have heretofore remarked as to the quality 
of the articles exhibited from this country, which 
commended them to the approval of the juries 
and the admiration of the Emperors of Germany and 
Austria and the members of their respective courts. 
And now I refer for a moment to the criticism passed 
upon me for not leaving the selection of these articles 
entirely to the Advisory Committee, in New York. The 
Advisory Committee was composed of gentlemen select- 
ed by me, whose action was entirely voluntary. I 
respectfully contend that if this Committee had never 
been called upon to act, such omission on my part is not 
properly the subject of complaint from Mr. Jay, or from 
any parties except the gentlemen composing the Com- 
mitteee. But the fact is that I made every possible 
exertion to secure the co-operation of the different 
brano]i33 of the Advisory Committee, and it was only 

when most of tlies3 failed to act, and the shortness o 

3 



36 

time permitted no alternative, that I assumed the un- 
pleasant task myself. 

It is charged b}' Messrs. Jay and McElrath that I 
neglected to send to Vienna, weeks before my arrival 
the full assignments of space in our department, while 
at the same time I am taken to task for not referring all 
this to the Advisory Committee. The truth is, the time 
for doing the work necessary for so large an undertaking 
was entirely too limited. Everything possible was done 
by myself and my associates. Mr. McElrath was one 
of the Assistant Commissioners ; I look in vain, how- 
ever, for evidences of his activity in behalf of the Exhi- 
bition. While we were laboring without cessation, he 
was enjoying the leisure and luxury of a sojourn in 
Italy, until he came to Vienna to conspire against the 
head of the Commission and his associates, and com- 
placently accept the honors due them. 

LEAVING BUSINESS WITH MAYER. 

I am accused also of having, while in Washington, 
left the business of the Commission in the hands of 
General Mayer, when, in the opinion of Mr. Jay, I 
should not have troubled myself by seeking an appro- 
priation from CongTess, but should have accepted the 
offers of those who were willing to contribute to the 
expenses of the Commission. He says I could easily 
have secured comur'ssioners of such wealth and stand- 
ing as to have commanded from them a generous coatri- 
bution. (p. 515.) In England, he adds, a large amount 
was given by private citizens, " one of the Commission 
himself contributing 10,000 pounds." This was denied 
to me by members of the British Commission, the fact 
being that what was contributed was for special objects. 
But suppose I had accepted such contributions, would 



37 

not Mr. Jay have been the first to condemn my action. 
The chief burden of his complaint now is that I permit- 
ted a person even to loan a small sum to the Commis- 
sion, or any member of it, or to subscribe to the expen- 
ses of erecting a school house or other building. 

It has sometimes occurred to me to enquire why it is 
that Mr. Jay did not follow the example of the English 
Gentleman he so approvingly quotes, and forward to the 
Commission his contribution of ten thousand pounds. 
Thus, by his works, he would have illustrated the value 
of his words. Instead of this, he sent me an urgent re- 
quest, before the appropriation was made, to re-imburse 
him a few dollars he had unwittingly expended in the 
premises. After Mr. Jay had succeeded in securing my 
removal, he carried out his idea of appointing men of 
" wealth and standing." I submit to you whether the 
experiment was satisfactory. I know in his report he 
gives great credit to this Temporary Commission, but 
the facts scarcely sustain his eulogy, as I shall show' 
when opportunity presents. 

Suppose I had appointed these, or similar parties, to 
have assisted me at the outset : does any one believe I 
would have ever secured an exhibition ? I am told that 
they received the Emperor and his suite on the first of 
May, under the supervision of Mr. Jay, with infinite 
grace, and having thus secured the success of the Exhi- 
bition, they resigned the next day. 

The course adopted by myself, with regard to my ap- 
pointments and the appropriation, seemed to me the only 
proper one. In my absence, I was, of course, obliged to 
leave the office in the hands of a deputy. So far as my 
experience goes, every public officer does the same thing, 
Mr. Jay, not excepted. That Mr. Mayer did the entire 



38 

work and bore the responsibility of the office, however, 
is simply absurd. 

THE SCHOOL HOUSE. 

As to my authority given to Col. Bridges to erect the 
school room, and of Mr. Philbrick's extended testimony 
upon the general subject, I have only to say that looking 
over my action in the premises, in view of all the facts 
and circumstances, I am of the opinion that my course 
was not only entirely justified, but is highly to be 
commended. Mr. Philbrick's statement i^iiot offer,) that 
some patent structure could be put on board a ship in 
Boston harbor, in pieces, at a cost of $2,800 was of no 
sort of importance. Had such contract been made, the 
building, put up at Vienna, would have cost far more than 
the one erected, flis promise that Boston would pay a 
portion of the expense was withdrawn, and I under- 
stand him to favor my action in the premises. At any 
rate, the responsibilit}^ belonged to me, and not to Mr. 
Philbrick. The school building was erected at the very 
lowest possible price. Its exhibition was a great success, 
as the reports will show, and if my Commission had not 
been interfered with, I believe no criticism would have 
been made upon my action or upon this part of the Ex- 
hibition. 

WANT OF FRANKNESS. 

I refer now to that part of the report that charges me 
with " want of frankness " in my correspondence with. 
the State Department, (p. 540.) My letter to the Sec- 
retary which is thus commented on, and which ap]3ears 
on page 103, I affirm is true and fi-ank in every particu- 
lar. " Want of candor and frankness " is shown 'not in 
my letters, but in the misrepresentations and misquota- 
tions of this report. On page 542, will l)e found this Ian- 



39 

guage, referring to my letter: " Here was no intimation 
that Boelim & Wiehl were to have three estabhshments, 
two of which were being erected on the grounds, and 
that the third, General Van Buren had himself suggest- 
ed to Baron Schwarz sliould be placed in the Rotunda of 
the Palace of Industry." And a little farther on they 
say: " For this deliberate misrepresentation of the truth 
accompanied with an expression of regret if the Depart- 
ment should disapprove of his establishment of one bar, 
the Special Commission find no apology." Now, either 
this " Special Commission " or myself is guilty of a "de- 
liberate misrepresentation of the truth ;" I adopt their 
own polite and diplomatic phrase. 

By a paragraph on page 543, it w*ill be seen that the 
charge is repeated that I did not tell the truth in refer- 
ence to the number of permits given by me for restaur- 
ants and bars. Now, if it be shown, from the evidence, 
that I never gave Boelim & Wiehl permission to erect 
three places for the sale of liquors ; and never did sug- 
gest to Baron Schwai'z " that a bar should be erected in 
the rotunda," as stated by Mr. Jay, there will be no dif- 
ficulty in deciding which of us is guilty of " deliberate 
misrepresentation of the truth." Reference to my letter 
to Baron Schwarz introducing Boehm & Wiehl, (p. 180) 
which Mr. Jay quotes, as the foundation of his charges, 
will show that no allusion whatever is made to any per- 
mission on my part to them, other than for the erection 
of " one pavilion ;" and the correspondence and evidence 
may be searched in vain to find a single reference, on my 
part, either to a permit for the erection of a " Wigwam," 
or that I had the least knowledge that the same was be- 
ing erected. T^he fad is that I.never heard a word upon 
the subject until after my arrival in Vienna. As to the 



40 

bar in the rotunda, my exact language is as follows : 
" If it should seem to you best to grant these parties an 
additional permit to erect a small bar in the rotunda of 
the Palace of Industry, I have no objection to its beino- 
done, and will have a supervision over it. Anything 
they undertake to do I feel perfectly assured will be well 
done." 

In writing to the State Department, this sentence, in 
my letter to Boehm & Wiehl had escaped my memory, 
but I submit it is not " suggesting to Baaon Schwarz 
that a bar should be erected," as stated by Mr. Jay. It 
was given by me at the solicitation of Boehm & Wiehl 
as simply indicating that I would not oppose such per- 
mit if they could obtain it from Baron Schwarz. These 
then are the facts. I gave no permit to B. & W. to 
erect " three places for the sale of drinks," nor did I 
suggest that " a bar sJtOfddhe erected in the rotunda ;" 
but the statement in my letter to the Department that I 
had granted ^ ermits for the erection of " one pavilion for 
the sale of drinks," "and one restaurant," was the literal 
and exact truth, and the statements of Messrs. Jay and 
McElrath to the contrary are literal and exact " misrep- 
resentations of the truth." 

CHARACTER OF THE REPORT. 

I am now about through with this report, in which 
Messrs. Jay and McElrath have exhausted their utmost 
ingenuity to convict me of some offense to justify their 
flaming telegrams and reports, and the disgrace brought 
upon our Government and people. 

I repeat : The charge in their dispatches was that of 
" corruption," in the taking of money from the keepers 
of bars and restaurants, and their recommendation that 
the Commission be suspended upon the general charge 



41 

of "irregularities," such "irregularities" being the "cor- 
ruption" named. The answer of the Government was 
the suspension of the Commission " on account of the 
'irregularities' referred to." My accusers and judges 
have diligently employed themselves for three months to 
get together something to justify or excuse their action 
in the premises, and would probably be still engaged in 
the same agreeable employment if not arrested by the 
positive command of the State Department. The 
result is before you, and I submit that with all their 
anxiety and all the power in their command, even in the 
microscope of their malice, they have failed to discover 
a single act which merits the disaj)proval of the Govern- 
ment. 

If any error was committed by me in connection with 
bars or restaurants, it is needless to say, to those who 
know me, that such error was not the fruit of corruption. 
/ did lohat I thought loas for the best, ajid submitted my 
action to the Government for its examination and approval 
or disapproval, avowing my readiness to abide by its orders. 

The behavior of Mr. Jay, however, throughout this 
whole affair, I submit, was contrary to that of a good 
citizen having the fair fame of his country at heart, and 
particularly unbecoming in a representative of our Gov- 
ernment in a foreign country, whose first duty it was to 
shield the honor of the Eepublic and protect his 
countrymen from oppression. 

I now ask, upon this whole matter, the judgment and 
action of the Government. It is said that officers 
having no fixed tenure of office may be removed without 
cause assigned Without stopping to question this 
assumption, it is sufficient to say that in this case 
charges were made by Mr. Jay, and an extraordinary 



42 

tribunal, whose conduct is without precedent in our his- 
tory, labored for three months, in a foreign city, to 
establish them. 

If these charges have not been sustained, I ask that 
my reputation may be vindicated by the Government, or 
that a thorough investigation may be had, before a com- 
mittee of Congress, of everything connected with our 
Exhibition at Vienna from its inception to its close, 
under its four different commissions, with the details of 
its management and expenses, the character and services 
of the parties employed at Vienna, and also the conduct 
and motives of Messrs. Jay and McElrath in connection 
therewith, as well as of their qualifications to act as 
judges of my Commission. 

ASSISTANT COMMISSIONEES. 

I cannot close this communication without referring, 
for a moment, to the removal of those Assistant Com- 
missioners, against Avhom even the malice of Mr. Jay 
could invent no charge. Nothing was imputed to them 
except that their appointment was due to me. Going to 
Vienna, having devoted months to their official duties, 
and bearing the commissions of their Government, they 
were suddenly thrust from their positions, and refused 
the least explanation or redress. 

At the suggestion of the Government that Mr. Sliultz 
should select his assistants from among these gentlemen, 
two of them were reappointed, one of whom was after- 
wards made chief of the Commission. 

Mr. McMichael was re-instated, but refused to serve, 
and Dr. Ruppaner journeyed from Vienna to Washing- 
ton and back to regain his position ; but it seems proper 
to enquire why the others were ignored while the ser- 
vices of some of them were eagerly sought and received 



43 

by the new Commission ! Messrs. Eonnd and Gottheil 
performed most valuable labors at tlie Exhibition, and 
the important duties confided to the latter by the exist- 
iug Commission have kept him at Yienna up to the 
present time. 

It seems scarcely creditable that these men should have 
received only disgrace at the hands of their country's 
representative in Austria, wKile Mr. McElrath, who 
never did any service for the Commission, was loaded 
with praises and honors. 

I have been accused of too much zeal in my own 
defence and that of my Commission. 

Christian forbearance is a virtue so easily preached 
by those who have received no injury ! But righteous 
indignation against such wrongs as we have been sub- 
jected to, I cannot think unbecoming in men conscious 
of their rectitude and who know their own rights. 

For one, I desire most respectfully to say that I refuse 
to rest quietly under the assaults made upon my char- 
acter until publicly vindicated. 

This vindication is not necessary to my neighbors 
and friends, who nobly sustained me at the outset of the 
attack, and also after a careful reading of the evidence 
and report filed by Mr. Jay ; nor to my acquaintances, 
who, with scarcely an exception, have hastened to 
express to me their entire confidence in my honor ; nor 
to those who know Mr. Jay and are familiar with his 
character disposition and habits ; nor to the Govern- 
ment, which announces it has made no charges accusing 
me "of any criminality or improper conduct ; " but to 
that great public, here and abroad, before v>'hich my 
name has been for months held up to scorn and con- 
tempt, it is due that the truth should he fully exposed, 



u 

that it should be shown that I have not only been 
guilty of no wrong, but that I have rendered a service to 
the Government and people, and accomplished a work 
that should entitle me to approbation rather than cen- 
sure — to rewards rather than reproaches. 

I have the honor to be, Sir, with great respect. 
Your obedient servant, 

THOS. B. YAN BUREN. 



p. S. — While the foregoing was being printed I have 
received the announcement of mj nomination as Consul- 
General at Japan, which affords me the gratifying con- 
viction that I still possess the confidence and regard of 
the Government, and am vindicated by its pubhc act. I 
send this to you now in order that it may form a part of 
the record of the "Vienna Exhibition " on file in your 
Department. 



lllSlHIIII ^^ CONGRESS 

019 929 385 



